Woodlands care home, Crowborough

Our prices are based on your individual care needs and your choice of room within our home.

Assess your situation

Some people have the resources to pay for their care in full and others make means tested contributions. There are national limits that determine eligibility for funding assistance which are set by the government and are subject to change, so we advise you to check current figures when choosing a care home.

Paying for care yourself

If you are paying for your own care then you can contact our care home directly to arrange a viewing and request a room. We will do a care needs assessment to make sure we are able to meet your care needs. We advise that you thoroughly read through the contract before signing and make sure you are clear about what you are paying for.

Financial assessment

You will need to have a financial assessment before moving in. The purpose of this assessment is to identify the length of time that you might be able to meet our fees. It will also assess whether you are likely to require top up funding from the Local Authority. We require all new potential residents to undergo an Independent Financial Assessment.

We can give you details of an independent financial advisor that could be used, or you can choose your own providing that your financial report covers our ‘acceptance criteria’. We use ‘Care Advice Service’ and their current cost for a financial assessment is £145 (subject to change) and is refundable after six months. Following the financial assessment, we will be given a red, amber or green score on your ability to pay and we will discuss this score with you.

We require the result of your assessment to be green for you to move in as a permanent resident. We would not ordinarily accept a self-funding resident to move in permanently with a red or amber result.

Common questions

Does Sussex Housing & Care accept Local Authority (LA) funded residents?
We do accept LA funded residents but only with a top-up fee to cover the difference in cost. A third party can ‘topup’ and contribute to any extra cost and they will need to have a financial assessment (see overleaf) to identify whether they can meet the fees.

Do I have to pay a deposit?
We don’t ask for a deposit but we do ask that residents pay in advance (see ‘how frequently are care home fees due?’ question below).

Can I reserve a room?
If a resident is unable to move in immediately and there is a delay, we are able to reserve an empty room of your choosing. This will be charged at the ‘standard’ rate for the room and the charge will apply for the duration of the time it is being reserved. This charge is non-refundable.

How frequently are care home fees due?
For permanent residents, the payment of the monthly charge by direct debit is due in advance on the first day of each month, or the nearest following day if the first day of the month falls on a bank holiday or weekend. For respite residents it is a week in advance.

What happens if a resident becomes eligible for state funding during their stay?
We expect the resident or a third party to pay the difference between what the local authority pay and our fees, if not they will have to leave the home. If we have a more affordable room which is empty we can give the resident the option to move into the cheaper room. Before moving in we ask for the resident to have a third party top up guarantor in case a resident is no longer able to pay the fee.

How can self-funded residents have their fees changed during their stay?
There is an annual fee increase based on a formula which uses CPI and wages increases. This is calculated at a maximum of 2% plus 65% of wages increase plus 35% of CPI.

We know that meal times bring sunshine and are an important part of the day. We take great pride in offering a seasonal daily menu which has a selection of delicious, nutritionally balanced meals.

Residents can take their pick and choose on the day what they fancy from the menu. Our trained chefs cook scrumptious dishes on site in our 5* hygiene rated kitchen, using fresh ingredients.

If there are dietary requirements or personal preferences, that’s no problem! Residents can top themselves up throughout the day with tea, coffee, juice, homemade cake, biscuits and fruit. There’s not much that beats settling down with a nice cup of tea and homemade cake whilst chatting with friends in an afternoon.

Residents have their say and join regular meetings with our Chef Manager to give feedback on dishes and share suggestions for the menu. Here’s what some residents had to say:

“Full marks to the kitchen for getting to know people’s likes and dislikes!”

“My breakfast here is perfect, it’s exactly what I like.”

“I have a small appetite and have a small plate, but sometimes there’s not enough space so I’d like a small portion on a bigger plate please.”

Here's a sample menu:

Breakfast
Selection of cereals or porridge, mixed fruits, toast and tea, coffee, hot chocolate.

Lunch
Roast beef and yorkshire pudding
Roasted vegetable tart
Pear tart tatin
Chocolate organde cheesecake

Supper
Ham and cheese croissant
Homemade carrot and corriander soup
Lemon syllabub
Creme caramel

If you or your loved one decide to make a permanent move into one of our care homes you will have your own room. We encourage residents to personalise their room with their own belongings so they can create a homely feel and make it their own. 

For example, you can bring your own bed, furniture, chairs, pictures and television. The majority of our rooms are en-suite and we also have a few double rooms which can accommodate two people.

Each room has a telephone connection so residents can have their own landline number and wi-fi. We also have guest wi-fi access throughout our care homes. Every room has a television aerial and an emergency call system in the bedroom and bathroom. We also offer residents a pendant to wear which is linked to the call system.

We have a ‘Better Together’ programme. 

Engaging and involving our residents is important to us. We constantly seek ideas, feedback and suggestions from our residents and their family in order to continuously improve our service. Here are some of the ways we gain feedback: 

Resident meeting  - Residents meet regularly with our care home manager, they share feedback, staff updates and plan events.

Catering meeting - Our Chef Manager arranges catering meetings so you can give feedback about our dishes and recipes, and make suggestions for the menu.

Resident satisfaction survey - Every year we formally ask residents for their feedback in a questionnaire. This is anonymous feedback about all areas of our service.

Relative satisfaction survey - It’s important that your relatives or close friends have the opportunity to share their feedback too so we share a questionnaire with them every year.

Click here to see the results and action plan from our last residents and relatives survey.

Here is a list of frequently asked questions to help people who are looking for a care home.

1. Are Sussex Housing & Care’s care homes accepting new residents?

Yes, we are welcoming new residents to our care homes. Please get in touch to register your interest. 

2. Can I have a tour of the care home?

We know that you will want to see our care home for yourself and we can offer an in – home viewing or a virtual tour so that you can get to know us better. Our care home manager or deputy manager will be happy to welcome you and answer any questions that you have.

3. Are family and friends able to visit residents?

We welcome friends and family to visit their loved one and you can enjoy spending time in our communal areas such as lounges, dining areas or day rooms, even take part in an activity if you fancy! You are also welcome to visit a resident in their room. Visitors do not need to wear PPE. However, if there is a local need to wear PPE, then we ask that you do wear a mask which we will provide. Please do not visit our homes if you are feeling unwell, have flu like symptoms or a temperature. 

4. How can residents keep in touch with loved ones outside of the care home?

We understand how important it is for residents to keep in touch with friends and family. In addition to being able to visit when ever you would like, we make good use of technology. For example, we have a mobile phone and tablets in each care home for residents to use to chat or video call, and we support residents who are unable to independently use these devices.

We have a Facebook page for each of our care homes — simply search for the care home name and find our page. Here we post photos and videos of daily activities and share updates. Feedback from families about these pages has been very positive and they have enjoyed seeing what residents get up to.

5. How do you monitor who accesses the building?

We have a door entry system at all of our care homes, this means that staff speak to anyone before they enter the building. Visitors should always sign in and residents have an in/out board to use. The doors are opened using a door release code and the nurse call system will alert staff when any other external door has been opened. We encourage our residents to live independently and have access to our lovely gardens, however, we monitor this access to make sure it is appriopriate.

6. How do you safeguard residents?

All of our employees complete a safeguarding training course to make sure our residents, who can be vunerable, are treated with respect and not abused or neglected. We are regulated by the Care Quality Commission and work closely with our local partners. All of our care home employees have manditory training and a DBS check when they start employment with us.

7. What health and safety checks do you complete?

We carry out regular health and safety checks in our care homes to make sure our property is safe, risks are reduced and our equipment is in good working order. 

Fire safety checks include for example:

• Weekly fire alarm testing.
• Monthly checks of; fire extingushers, fire doors, electrical items and cleaning smoke detectors and completing a fire drill.
• Quarterly fire risk assessments and fire risk audits are carried out.
• Every year we have our electircal equipment PAT tested.

Health and safety checks include for example:

• Visual inspections.
• Hoist and sling inspections.
• Hot water temperature testing.
• Internal and external environmental checks.
• Condition of garden furniture assessments.
• Legionella tests.
• Emergency lighting and nurse call system.
• Checking first aid boxes, window restrictors and wheelchairs.

We are very proud to have received a platinum award from the RSPCA for our pet friendly policy and we embrace the difference pets can make to our residents.

We are in our fifth consecutive year of winning a Housing Footprints award. This accolade shows that the RSPCA recognise our approach to promoting responsible pet ownership and how we acknowledge the positive difference animals can make to our residents. We have 109 pets living among our 800 residents, the majority of which live with residents who occupy our rented sheltered housing and leasehold properties. 

Pets are welcome to live with residents in our care homes, but we will need to firstly complete a risk assessment to make sure our care home is an appropriate home for the animal, and that the owner is able to look after their pet, for example, they are able to feed, groom and, if required, exercise it. 

We have pet policy which is available for you to read.Pet Policy v3 2021[pdf] 270KB

"I had just lost my husband when I needed to move home so it was really important for me to find a housing association that was dog friendly so I could bring Lizzie, my west highland terrier, with me. I couldn’t bear to lose another member of my family.

Having Lizzie gives me a purpose to life, I go out walking with her everyday which helps me to keep physically and mentally fit. It means I have something in common with other residents and we have a good chat. Sussex Housing & Care’s pet policy is clear and I know my responsibilities as a pet owner.”

Resident from Nevill Court, Crowborough.